Catalogue
SA 30/6 references and part numbers set the primary survival boundary.
Folk Club research / reconstruction
Folk Club Recording Reconstruction Ledger
A working ledger for reconstructing individual Chelmsford Folk Club recording sessions without turning partial surviving records into complete evenings. Each row separates direct catalogue evidence from published Record Office identification and from anything that would still require the original recording, transcript or related paperwork to establish.
Reconstruction rule: “known” means the surviving catalogue or published source explicitly identifies it. “Context” means another source helps explain the event but does not fill a missing recording part. “Unknown” stays unknown.
Session-by-session ledger
| Date | Surviving record | What can be stated safely | What should not be inferred |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | SA 30/6/94/1 | Chelmsford Folk Club Christmas Special is catalogued as a surviving recording record. | No performer list or complete programme is added unless a surviving source names it. |
| 18 Jul 1982 | SA 30/6/402/1 | Mick & Sarah Graves and Geoff & Penny Harris are associated with the surviving record; the Record Office's published research independently identifies Sarah and Mick Graves at Chelmsford Folk Club that date. | Do not reconstruct the whole bill, running order or surviving tape coverage from the published article alone. |
| 17 Oct 1982 | SA 30/6/425/1 | Parts 2 and 4 of 4 survive/catalogue; Martin Carthy is identified and Colin Cater is named as introducer. The catalogue supplies repertoire details. | Parts 1 and 3 are not silently supplied from memory or generic knowledge. |
| 7 Nov 1982 | SA 30/6/428/1 | Parts 1 and 3 of 4; Annie Harding sings “Reynardine”; Chelmsford Morris marks its tenth anniversary with three dances. | The missing parts are not treated as reconstructed. Annie's later oral history corroborates her wider Chelmsford Folk Club involvement, but does not replace the missing tape parts. |
| 3 Mar 1985 | SA 30/6/653/1 | Simon and Bobbie Ritchie are identified in the surviving record; the Record Office article highlights Simon Ritchie's “The March Hare”. The catalogue names other participants and says the recording ends abruptly. | The abrupt ending means the surviving record is not a complete evening; later programme details cannot be assumed to be on tape. |
| 22 Dec 1985 | SA 30/6/712/1 | East Anglian Dulcimers is the surviving catalogue subject; the Record Office article identifies Paul McCann and Jill Palmer-Swift performing. | The published identification is not used to manufacture a complete set list or full evening programme. |
| 20 Apr 1986 | SA 30/6/736/1 | Part 1 of 2, Singers' Night. The catalogue names residents, floor singers, dances and tunes; the Record Office article identifies Jill Palmer-Swift introducing Chelmsford Assembly / Seven Straw Braid. | Part 2 is not reconstructed. Named participants in part 1 are not automatically treated as a complete bill for the evening. |
Evidence layers
Published research
Essex Record Office articles can identify performances and explain context without replacing the catalogue.
Oral history
Later interviews can corroborate people, places and club practice, but remain oral-history evidence rather than a substitute for a missing recording part.
Paper trail
Essex Folk News, guest lists and newsletters can potentially establish bills or dates independently, but only where the surviving paper actually says so.
Why this ledger exists
The Essex Record Office describes Jim Etheridge's Chelmsford recordings as unusually valuable because he often recorded whole evenings, including announcements, floor singers and applause. The same guide says the recordings are usually two cassettes per evening, while the individual catalogue records show that some surviving entries cover only selected parts. The reconstruction ledger therefore treats the collection as a rich documentary spine while keeping every gap visible.
The published Record Office research independently identifies the 1982, 1985 and 1986 Chelmsford recordings and notes that Essex Folk News documented the wider county folk-club circuit. That gives the archive several independent routes for testing a reconstruction, but not permission to fill gaps automatically.
Research routes
Recording Evidence Matrix · Recording Collection · Documentary Crosswalk · Essex Folk News Trail · Source Access Guide · Venue Evidence Matrix · Archive Questions